Just as the Germans were clearing the battlefield, there was a sudden rumbling explosion, and the German commander turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came, only to see black smoke with flames coming from the body of a tank parked dozens of meters away. At this moment, he felt very strange in his heart, how could this tank burn inexplicably?

Before he could figure it out, he saw a cloud of black dirt rising up from the sky next to another tank. Then there was the sound of gunfire, and the soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield began to flee in all directions like frightened antelopes. Moments later, the German commander heard behind him the sound of "Ula", muffled by the sound of firing, and the growing roar of tank motors.

He turned his head in horror and looked behind him, only to see countless Soviet commanders and fighters, under the cover of more than a dozen tanks, rushing towards his position. "Hell, how did so many Russians pop up all of a sudden?" The German commander realized that it might be the main force of the Soviet army that had arrived, and was immediately shocked into a cold sweat. He thought that he had paid so many casualties in order to destroy a small army of only four tanks and twenty tank soldiers, and at this moment, facing a large army with more people and tanks than himself, if he stayed here, he would only end up with the destruction of the whole army. Thinking of this, he hurriedly shouted: "Retreat, retreat!" ”

The German troops attacking the tank company now had only two tanks and seventy or eighty soldiers, many of whom were wounded. Seeing the Soviet tanks and fighters rushing towards more than ten times more than his own, he was already frightened, and when he heard the commander's retreat order, he hurriedly spread his feet and fled in the direction of the city.

Seeing that the battle was over, the commander of the unit knew that the task assigned to him by his superiors had failed, and he couldn't help but be red-eyed when he looked at the German troops who fled in a hurry, and immediately ordered the troops to pursue, to wipe them all out and avenge the sacrifices of their comrades.

The fleeing Germans sent less than two kilometers before they were dumpled by the Soviet troops who were chasing from behind. Except for a few soldiers who were killed, the rest were taken prisoner.

After destroying the enemy, the two brigade commanders of the infantry brigade and the tank brigade were in trouble, and Fedyuninsky gave himself the task of rescuing the besieged tank company, but now that the tank company has been completely destroyed, what should he do next? After discussion, the two decided to send a telegram to Fedyuninsky jointly, reporting to him what was happening here.

Fedyuninsky received a telegram from the two brigade commanders, and before reporting to Rokossovsky, he instructed his chief of staff: "Send a telegram to the two brigade commanders, except for a small number of troops left to clean up the battlefield and collect the remains of the martyrs, the remaining troops immediately rush to Erbin and take advantage of the enemy's confusion to seize the city." ”

When the chief of staff went to send a telegram to the two brigade commanders, Fedyuninsky sat at the table, pinched the telegram he received and sent it for a while, then sighed, picked up the high-frequency telephone in front of him, and asked the operator to connect to the front command, and he was ready to personally report the failure of the rescue to Rokossovsky.

After the phone was connected, Rokossovsky's voice came from the receiver: "I'm Rokossovsky, is it Fedyuninsky?" Do you have any good news for me? ”

"I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal." Fedyuninsky replied with a little shame: "The troops I sent to the northern outskirts of Erbin to rescue the tank company, because they were harassed by the Germans along the way, by the time they arrived at the place, the tank company had been completely destroyed. According to the interrogation of the prisoners, the commanders and fighters of the tank company behaved bravely, fighting until the last shell, the last bullet, and finally all died heroically. In particular, the company commander, Captain Diachenko, was seriously wounded, and in order not to be taken prisoner by the Germans, he kept the last bullet in the chamber for himself. ”

"I see, General Fedyuninsky." Although Rokossovsky had already seen life and death, and the life and death of tens of thousands of people was just a boring number for him, when he heard the sacrifice of all members of Diachenko's tank company at this moment, his nose was still sour. He pinched his nose and asked into the microphone, "What kind of measures did your troops take after they arrived in the northern suburbs?" ”

"I have ordered them to immediately attack the city from the north of Erbin." Fedyuninsky replied: "I hope they will take advantage of the confusion of the enemy and seize this important city." ”

"I'm not asking about that." Seeing that Fedyuninsky had misunderstood what he meant, Rokossovsky hurriedly explained to him: "I asked them if they had collected the bodies of the fallen commanders and fighters of the tank company. ”

"I've already sent a telegram to the two brigade commanders." "Let them collect the remains of these heroes and bring them back to their homeland for burial," Fedyuninsky said. ”

"I see, and I will bury them in the place where they sacrificed." Rokossovsky pondered for a moment, and then said to Fedyuninsky: "Let them see with their own eyes the liberation of Elbin by our troops." ”

After putting down the phone, Rokossovsky called Bogolyubov to himself and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to Fedyuninsky's report, the tank company that arrived on the northern outskirts of Elbin has been completely destroyed. Now you immediately go and find out where the Shura tank crew, which was lost two days ago, find him, and rebuild the tank company as soon as possible. ”

Bogolyubov was also taken aback when he heard that the tank company had been wiped out. Hearing Rokossovsky's order, he hurriedly replied: "The Shura tank crew and another crew, because they were driving an old T-34, had a malfunction in the on-board radio, and after losing contact with the company, they got lost, and later met the troops of the 10th Tank Army, and they were temporarily incorporated into the army. ”

After learning about Shura's whereabouts, Rokossovsky was also secretly relieved in his heart, knowing that Shura was the younger brother of the Soviet heroine Zoya, and if he disappeared on the battlefield, it would be really difficult for him to explain to his superiors.

Bogolyubov continued: "Comrade Marshal, I propose to draw elite soldiers from all tank corps and rebuild the heroic tank company. As for the post of company commander, I suggest that Sergeant Shura take the position. ”

"Shura as the commander of the tank company?" Rokossovsky hesitated for a moment about Bogolyubov's proposal, and then said: "Okay, he will be the commander of the new tank company." However, his rank was too low, and he was immediately promoted to lieutenant. ”